£12 Million Man’s Magic Justifies Arteta’s Winter Gamble
Is Jorginho demonstrating why Arteta must have paid £12 million for his acquisition, six months before he could be available for free?
Many Gooners are concerned about the team’s stability in the absence of Thomas Partey. Arsenal were certain to be without Partey against Villa, and the prospect of Jorginho continuing his run as Arsenal’s defensive midfielder did not inspire many Gooners with confidence that they would easily defeat an unpredictable Aston Villa.
Jorginho didn’t do much on his full Arsenal debut in the 3-1 loss to Manchester City. This came after he was chastised just days before when he made his Arsenal debut in the 58th minute of Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Everton less than two weeks ago.
The former Blue was solid against Villa this weekend, covering his ground well even in the first half when Arsenal struggled. His effort, which resulted in a Martinez own goal, capped off his performance in his second start, covering for Partey.
Many pundits rated his performance as an 8 over 10, with Football London saying: “One of the better players in Arsenal’s disappointing first half with his quick feet and industry at the base of midfield. Faded in influence in the second half but largely because Arsenal played more in the opposition half. Another solid display. The shot that caused the winner to top it off too!” Arteta was also impressed by the Italian, saying how he was left impressed, saying, on BBC, “In the second half, we created chance after chance. We needed a magic moment, and Jorginho produced it. He has many qualities, but that probably isn’t his biggest strength.”
I don’t many Gooners will be calling him a Chelsea reject any more, do you?
Peter’s JustArsenal Ratings will be coming up next..
Daniel O
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